September 15, 2009

'Plan' for 'Battlestar' fans: Wait a little longer for TV movie

Since it went of the air in March, "Battlestar Galactica" fans have been waiting for the debut of the "BSG" film "The Plan." But unless they plan to purchase the film on DVD, they're going to have to wait a bit longer.

Syfy had said in the past that the two-hour film, which was written by Jane Espenson and directed by Edward James Olmos, would air on the network this fall. As recently as June, Syfy president Dave Howe said that it would likely air in November.

However the network has confirmed that "The Plan" will not air on Syfy in 2009. The film, which revisits events from early in the run of "Battlestar Galactica" from the Cylon perspective, is still on track for an Oct. 27 DVD release. And presumably "The Plan" will arrive on Syfy some time next year. If I get more concrete information about a time frame, I will update this post.

In March, Olmos said this at a "Battlestar" press event: “When [‘Battlestar’ fans] see ‘The Plan,’ they’re all going to have to go back and watch the entire series again.”

What? Does Syfy have more giant shark or octopus movies it needs to premiere? Maybe another wrestling series? We've waited patiently and now they're pushing it back again? An aside: every time I see "Syfy," I remember copies of the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution with their lower case "s" looking like a lower case "f" and want to call the network "Sysy" or "Sissy" instead of "Syfy." Perhaps my reaction has something to do with Syfy's programming choices.

What Arial said. Surely it's not as if That Network had countless episodes of quality programming and not enough hours in the day to cram it all in.

I'm sure they're bouncing up and down at the thought of disgruntled fans rushing out and buying the DVD (assured sales!). I just hope they can convince would-be advertisers that there will be any audience left to view the thing when it actually airs.

2003: "Dear Mr. Moore: We've noticed your front titles for 'BSG" mention "A Plan." Just what is the plan, please? We understand if you need to tease it out over time to the audience, but since we're writing the checks, we'd like to have some idea where you're going with this. Love and kisses, SciFi."

2004: "Dear Ron: Boy are we relieved the miniseries went well. You have a greenlight for the series. Love, SciFi. PS: What's 'The Plan'?"

2005: "Dear Mr. Moore: We pay your salary. We pay for your production. What's 'The Plan'? Did you ever even have one? We understand about, 'I don't need to procrastinate now -- I can do it tomorrow.' You're a writer, after all. But, um... Please. Pretty please with sugar on top. What's 'The Plan'? Love, SciFi."

2006: Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

2007: Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

2008: Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Early 2009: "Dear Ron: Baby. Snookums. You *do* realize this is the last year of the series, right? You *do* realize that not saying what 'The Plan' is by the end of the series makes it look you're a schmuck who's been completely out of his depth from the get-go, and instead of involving a 'Plan' you've been improvising from the very start, because you have no idea where you're going, right? Love, SyFy."

Late 2009: "Dear Ron: So glad you could be bothered to tell us what 'The Plan' is. OTOH, you realize that coming up with a 'Plan' 7 months after your show went off the air is perhaps a sign of... what's the word?... Oh, yeah -- LYING, yes? Like Larry Niven once said, 'Any damn fool can predict the past.' Oh, well. At least you've earned your paycheck for a change. Love, SyFy."

Well the DVD has more footage apparently, so you're better off getting that, or stealing if you must. By the time it's on tv everyone will have seen it. Seems kind of odd marketing since most people would only watch it on tv if it premiered there. They'll probably get more or less the same dvd sales, but get less tv ratings than they could have. tahnks

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